What the 2026 reform changed, and what it did not

On 7 July 2026 the European Parliament approved the first serious revision of air passenger rights in over twenty years, by 646 votes to 12. The airline industry had pushed hard to raise the compensation threshold from three hours to four or six, a change that would have stripped the right to a payout from most passengers who currently have one.

What stayed

The three hour threshold. The amounts of €250, €400 and €600. The rule that the cause decides whether they pay. If you are reading this because a flight went wrong, nothing about what you are owed has changed.

What changed

A list of extraordinary circumstances goes into the Regulation itself: natural disasters, war, severe weather, unruly passengers and certain strikes. The list is explicitly not exhaustive, so an airline can still argue an event that is not on it, but it now has to show a direct link between the event and your disruption. Until now the whole phrase was defined case by case in court, which suited airlines: ambiguity is cheap for the party holding the money.

A single EU-wide deadline replaces the national patchwork. It is far shorter than almost anything it replaces: nine months to complain to the airline, and twelve months from the flight to bring the claim, against national limitation periods that today run from one year in Belgium and Poland to six in the United Kingdom. If you flew before the changeover, the old deadline is the one that protects you, and it is worth using it.

A personal item and a small cabin bag travel free of charge.

When it starts

The new rules are expected to apply from 2027. Until then the current Regulation applies in full. This site assesses your flight against the rules in force on the day you flew, and will keep both sets once the changeover date is published.